Forest Certification in Developing and Transitioning ... - UTas ePrints

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FSC will also provide guidance to policy makers on these issues, including
improving forest management legislation and policies.
Principle #1: Compliance with laws and FSC Principles
Forest management shall respect all applicable laws of the country in which they
occur, and international treaties and agreements to which the country is a signatory,
and comply with all FSC Principles and Criteria.
1.1 Forest management shall respect all national and local laws and
administrative requirements.
1.2 All applicable and legally prescribed fees, royalties, taxes and other
charges shall be paid.
1.3 In signatory countries, the provisions of all binding international
agreements such as CITES, ILO Conventions, ITTA, and Convention
on Biological Diversity, shall be respected.
1.4 Conflicts between laws, regulations and the FSC Principles and
Criteria shall be evaluated for the purposes of certification, on a case
by case basis, by the certifiers and the involved or affected parties.
1.5 Forest management areas should be protected from illegal harvesting,
settlement and other unauthorized activities.
1.6 Forest managers shall demonstrate a long-term commitment to
adhere to the FSC Principles and Criteria.
Principle #2: Tenure and use rights and responsibilities
Long-term tenure and use rights to the land and forest resources shall be clearly
defined, documented and legally established.
2.1 Clear evidence of long-term forest use rights to the land (e.g. land
title, customary rights, or lease agreements) shall be demonstrated.
2.2 Local communities with legal or customary tenure or use rights shall
maintain control, to the extent necessary to protect their rights or
resources, over forest operations unless they delegate control with
free and informed consent to other agencies.
2.3 Appropriate mechanisms shall be employed to resolve disputes over
tenure claims and use rights. The circumstances and status of any
outstanding disputes will be explicitly considered in the certification
evaluation. Disputes of substantial magnitude involving a significant
number of interests will normally disqualify an operation from being
certified.
yale school of forestry & environmental studies